Munnsville brothers sentenced in dairy cow scheme

Two Munnsville brothers accused of bilking the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency in a scheme involving 300 dairy cows were sentenced today in federal court in Syracuse to five years' probation and ordered to make more than $113,000 in restitution.

Michael S. Moot Sr., 47, and Francis J. Moot Jr., 56, who ran the Mar-Fran Dairy Farm in Munnsville, were accused of selling 300 cattle they had leased from the government for cash, and then telling government officials the herd had died. Both men entered guilty pleas in the case March 25.

Michael Moot had first claimed the cows were dead during a meeting of creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2003. He pleaded guilty in March to one count of making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding, a felony.

Francis Moot pleaded guilty to a felony count of making a false material statement after lying during a February 2005 interview with inspectors, who were investigating the whereabouts of the cattle. Moot told investigators that most of the leased cows had died, when he'd actually sold them to local cattle dealers for cash.

Both men were ordered to pay the $113,709 in restitution to the Farm Service Agency.